Russia

The Central Bank of Russia reported purchasing 8.5 million troy ounces of gold in January-November 2018. With its 67.6 million ounces of gold Russia is now the world’s fifth largest holder behind the US, Germany, France and Italy.

Vladimir Putin unveiled that Russia had developed a new type of weapon that flies faster than the speed of sound and looks like a “fireball” in March 2018. Less than a week before the start of 2019, information about its successful test launch was released.

Despite years of Western sanctions, Russia will become the world’s fifth-largest economy as early as next year, surpassing Germany and the UK, multinational bank Standard Chartered said in its long-term growth forecasts.

While it has long been clear that countries under US sanctions are more than motivated to turn their backs to the iconic greenbacks, the central bank’s interim review has shed some light on which economic zone Russia is intent to place its stake instead.

Trade turnover between Russia and China soared by nearly 30 percent in 2018, reaching a record number of $107.06 billion, according to the latest report released by China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC). The agency noted that last year Russian imports of Chinese goods increased by 12 percent to $47.98 billion.

Washington’s attempts to derail the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project to supply Russian natural gas to the European Union will definitely backfire, according to a geopolitical expert Dr. Pierre-Emmanuel Thomann.

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has lashed out at the US for its position on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Former Chancellor of Germany Gerhard Schroeder said Saturday that the US has its own energy interests in Europe, which explains the pressure Washington is exerting on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.

Earlier, UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson boasted that Britain’s new fleet of F-35s served as a message to the country’s “enemies”, including Russia, not to “mess with” Britain. Moscow is perplexed by the militaristic tone taken by the UK Ministry of Defence, and will respond appropriately if Russia’s security is threatened, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman […]

The Central Bank of Russia has moved further away from reliance on the US dollar and has axed its share in the country’s foreign reserves to a historic low, transferring about $100 billion into euro, Japanese yen and Chinese yuan.

The USSR and then Russia on the one side and Japan on the other never signed a peace treaty after the end of the Second World War largely due to the unresolved issue of sovereignty over the Kuril Islands.

The United States Department of Defense’s supply chains have deteriorated, and they now require significant modernization – and taxpayer funding – if Washington wishes to make war with Russia or China, according to an internal Pentagon report.

Tensions have spiked between Russia and the UK, following the doxing of personal information and pictures of state-funded media employees in both countries. So where will the escalating tensions lead? Sputnik has discussed the issue with Journalist Ollie Richardson.

Crimea dramatically broke off from Ukraine and rejoined Russia in March 2014 following a peninsula-wide referendum, a month after a Western-backed coup rocked Kiev and overthrew Ukraine’s democratically elected government.

On 31 December, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) detained Paul Whelan, accusing him of espionage and launching a criminal case against him. US State Secretary Mike Pompeo said the US demands the immediate return of the detained Paul Whelan and seeks an explanation of why he was arrested.